US think tank claims China installs weapons on disputed island

Washington: Despite the fact Beijing has promised not to militaries the South China Sea, the country has today installed weapons system on the all even seven artificial islands it has built.

A Washington based Centre for Strategic and International Studies which is a part of Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative has released some images showed that anti-aircraft guns and some other weapons system that would guard against cruise missiles sitting in hexagonal structure on the islands.

According to international web media, the finding came despite a pledge by the Chinese President Xi Jinping that Beijing would not militarise the 1.35 million-square-mile waters.

China has been rapidly transforming partially submerged reefs in the Spratly archipelago into island capable of supporting military hardware and receiving warplanes. The images show new constructions on Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief reefs on the Spratly islands.

“It now seems that these structures are an evolution of point-defence fortifications already constructed at China’s smaller facilities on Gaven, Hughes, Johnson, and Cuarteron reefs,” the US think tank said, citing images taken in November.